We are coming to the end of another month, August is slipping by and September is close at hand. We have been reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, not knowing who the Hebrews are and we do not know the author of this text, but it reads very much like a self-help book that could be written today. The author challenges the people to “not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when corrected by him.” Endure your trials as “discipline” as a way to learn and improve the quality of life.

I may be out of touch, but hopefully a good coach is one who mentors a baseball team helps each player learn the sport, learn their position, understanding that failure is part of the game. No one bats 1,000, no one gets a hit one hundred percent of the time, no one scores on every single play, and sometimes the team loses. After a team loses a game, the coach gives some explanation on what went well and what went wrong. Sometimes the team faces a level of complacency, getting too comfortable, letting their guard down and the other team capitalizes on those weaknesses. Other times players are just having a bad day, they are not in the groove and if anything can wrong it seems that it all goes wrong. We accept the weaknesses, failures, sometimes even the complacency that may affect a team, and loyal fans continue to root for them.

As Christians, we are disciples, still learning what it means to follow Jesus and we are up against the same issues as a ball team. We can grow complacent, give excuses rather than trying a little harder, give in or give up, rather than getting back up and trying again. What is the old adage, “practice makes perfect”? Well, we will never be perfect, only Christ is perfect, but we can accept discipline from a wise person, learn from our mistakes and try and try again relying on God’s everlasting grace to be the best version of ourselves.

If we are feeling droopy, weak or disjointed in our faith walk, then it’s time to let the Spirit rouse us and lead us to discern how God would want us to walk the path ahead.